The fundamental choice New Zealanders face every election is a choice between competing visions of Aotearoa. Each voter chooses the party whose vision they like the most. Through this process, 4 million voices get reflected in a 120-seat Parliament.

Most civics courses focus on the formal mechanisms of MMP. While this helps young people understand the system and reduces barriers, the heart of our democracy is something much deeper. Real insight comes when young people understand elections are a contest of values and ideologies, and the party vote is simply the vehicle to make your voice heard.

The Waha Election Special explains the mechanisms of MMP. But it starts by exploring the relationship between personal values, political parties, voter turnout and power.

It's a collaboration between Waha and our awesome friends at GENERATION VOTE, a rangatahi-led organisation who've been sharing civics knowledge with young people since 2018.

Session 1 - WHERE DO YOU STAND

Explores the relationship between personal values and political parties.

Session 2 - PARTICIPATION IS POWER

Explores the relationship between voter turnout and political representation.

Session 3 - TAKE YOUR SEAT

Explores how the party vote translates values into political power on election day

The Resource Hub holds all the Waha topics. Designed as an integrated learning pathway, they can also be used as standalone topics - how you use them is up to you. You will also find high quality, trusted materials from other parts of the universe. These are sub-topics, additional classroom activities, and links to external resources.

The Resource Hub is a mix of new and familiar material, but all are connected to the key question: how can people work together to create a more caring, inclusive and cohesive Aotearoa?

Links to external sites and partners also mean that the Resource Hub acts as a gateway to a broader community, and acts as an example of a collective voice working together to strengthen our society.

Every school is different and so is every classroom. The Resource Hub gives teachers the flexibility to follow the needs and interests of their young people, or insert new material into their school curriculum. There’s no fixed path.

The Resource Hub consists of a mix of resources including sub-lessons which are intended as deep dives into civics topics. The resources contain guidance material for teachers, material for students (reading material, PowerPoints), and classroom activities. The topics are aligned to the themes of Waha: how young people can participate in civics society to help make Aotearoa better.

If you or your class are new to civics, we recommend a structured, step-by-step approach. Begin with the first core lesson: Your Voice, then explore the related topics. Then do the same for Our Voice, and Waha.